Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha is facing a battle to be fit for the FA Cup final.
Boss Alan Pardew has revealed that the 23-year-old will miss this weekend’s Premier League finale at Southampton with injury.
Zaha was also side-lined for the win over Stoke City last weekend that secured the Eagles’ top flight safety.
He has been struggling with a muscle strain at the top of his leg, which almost ruled him out of the FA Cup semi-final.
The news comes on the back of Joe Ledley’s season-ending injury, which Pardew admitted was a spanner in the works of his cup final preparations.
He said: "Wilf is not going to make this fixture [against Southampton] and we'll have to wait and see if he makes the cup final.
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“Joe Ledley's injury has been a blow to us this week. We're trying to help him as much as possible.
“He was disappointed, but he's a strong character."
The Eagles go to Southampton knowing win could see then finish 12th in the Premier League table, while defeat could land them 16th.
Pardew said: "Southampton are a superb club with supporters that trust the team and manager. They're the form team in the Premier League at the moment.
“But we’re focussed on the job, and it is a big game for us because the four place swing is a lot of prize money.”
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